PEO Growth
THE MOST OVERDUE ARTICLE EVER WRITTEN: ETHICS IN SELLING PEO
This article is 38 years and over 80 plus PEO Insider articles in the making. Before we get too far in, let’s get a few things straight. One, we’re going to get real. Two, I ain’t perfect, never claimed to be. Three, we do not have to overpromise or be in any way less than 100% honest to be successful in gaining new clients. Four, there are people in this business who need to be fired or need to get out of the business for their predatory sales practices.
Let’s go in reverse order and start with number four.
A PEO salesperson has been calling on a client of mine for over a year. It started out with a simple, “Hey, if you would like to see a competitive quote, I would be happy to give you a bid.”
The most recent email was purely predatory:
“I tried to give you a call but was unable to reach you. I was informed that (PEO NAME redacted) CPEO was recently suspended. As you know this certification is a big deal in the PEO industry for the protection of our client's well-being. Were you notified of this?
With your open enrollment coming up, I wanted to see if we could meet and provide you with a second option in case you have to pivot for the safety of your company.”
How did I get the email? My client sent it to me, telling me that they will never do business with someone who conducts business that way. How did the salesperson know that this client was with a PEO? Not certain, however, I have been solicited by companies who sell lists of PEO clients.
Weak salespeople think that just because a client is with a PEO, the sale is easier. Not by a long shot. The predatory practice of going after existing PEO business is not good for our industry, and it erodes margins for all. Not to mention, changing PEOs can be disruptive to the client and employees.
Why companies change PEOs.
Service expectations, for whatever reason, are not being met and the client is so dissatisfied that they want or have to make a change.
Some organizations require changing vendors or providers every few years.
Clients who have no loyalty to their providers change to save a few bucks. It’s not a crime, it’s just the way they do business.
Number three. What we do makes a huge difference to the companies and their people we serve. There is no need to overpromise, manipulate or lie to sell a client. Clients are not stupid; they are in fact the most educated and knowledgeable in human history.
Go ahead…lie to or manipulate a client to make a sale. See how long they remain a client. You lose any rapport, credibility or respect you may have and you sure as hell aren’t getting any referrals.
Professional PEO salespeople are knowledgeable in their craft, ask great questions to discover clients’ needs, wants, gaps and costs and then seek to provide solutions in a non-manipulative way to help clients make the right decision for their organization.
Number two. I ain’t perfect. As a young, naïve salesman with a week of sales training (no product training) I made my share of mistakes. Two years in the business and was kicked out of a CFO’s office for not knowing there was something called a FICA wage base.
When asked how we helped comply with Title VII, sheepishly I replied, “Don’t know what that is.” The prospective client pointed out that it was a service listed on the proposal.
That meeting turned out to be a life-changing event. From then on, I committed to learning the technical aspects of this great business in every way possible. That passion remains a core value to this day. Not to be a know it all, but to learn a little more every day, because there is a lot to learn in this business and there always will.
Can we all strive to be better?
For the sake of our great industry, we must, and it starts at the top.
Make honesty and integrity a core value – not just something that is said or put on a wall, but values that are lived out in your organization every day.
Make it a company policy to refuse to provide a proposal to prospects in a current PEO relationship unless the prospect provides in writing they are making a change. Something like: If a prospective client has an existing contract with another PEO, before we issue a proposal, we require that the prospective client provide in writing that they are terminating their existing PEO relationship and the reasons why they are taking that action.
Does that mean never selling prospects with a current PEO? Of course not. Companies change, prospects’ needs change, times change.
Train and educate. PEO is without a doubt an extremely complex sale. Continuous training and development in all areas of the business is a must if you are going to have a highly productive and successful sales team.
If we make it a daily practice of making the decisions to do the right thing and encourage our teams to do the same.
I heard this quote on October 19, 1987, and have never forgotten it:“Character is the ability to carry out the actions of a worthy decision once the emotion of making that decision has passed.”
Until we get together again, I wish you the very best.